It is desirable in many remote control environments to include a tension adjustment mechanism along the length of a motion transmitting core element to maintain the tension of the core element. U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,180 to Carlson teaches the concept of placing a helical spring between two segments of a core element. The spring fits inside a housing which attaches to one end of one of the segments. An end of the second segment extends through the housing and through the helical spring. An annular flange or washer disposed on this end of the second segment abuts the end of the spring and prevents the second segment from being pulled through the spring. The flange thus retains the second segment to the first segment.
It would be desirable in a number of circumstances to provide adjustment in the manner in which the first and second segments attach in order to adjust the overall slack length of the core element. U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,203 to Gregory teaches a core element having such an adjustment, but the adjustment mechanism is unneccessarily complex for most purposes.